The present invention relates to gas cylinders and valves therefor.
Gas cylinders, also known as tanks or canisters, are widely used to contain various compressed and/or liquified gases for countless applications. For example, carbon dioxide gas is commonly compressed in cylinders for use in the sport of paintball to power paintball xe2x80x9cmarkers,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cguns,xe2x80x9d which propel a paintball to an intended target. Similarly, nitrogen can be compressed in cylinders for various uses, including paintball guns. In another example, propane is frequently compressed in cylinders for use in fueling lanterns, stoves, barbeque grills, camping gear, welding torches, etc. Gas cylinders are commonly adapted to be filled with fluid (either gas, liquid or a combination of both), discharged for an application, and then refilled, repeatedly.
Gas cylinders typically include a valve for controlling the flow of fluid in to and out of the cylinder. Commonly, the valve is adapted to attach both to an external filling member for filling the cylinder with fluid and to an external appliance member for discharging the fluid to an appliance for the intended application, for example, a paintball gun, lantern, barbeque grill, etc. A conventional valve has an attachment mechanism on one end of the valve for removably attaching the canister to an external member and second end of the valve is attached to a gas chamber for containing a fluid. Typically the second end of the valve is permanently secured to the chamber by the manufacturer, as accidental detachment of the valve from a filled chamber could result in an explosion of the chamber or firing of the valve.
The valve body typically includes an axial bore for allowing the flow of fluid through the body. A pin is commonly disposed within the valve body. In one arrangement, the pin is biased by a spring in a closed position, wherein the pin is maintained in a sealed position against the body. When the pin is urged against the spring, the pin is displaced away from the body in an open position, allowing fluid to flow through the valve body. When the pin is released, the spring urges the pin back into a closed position sealing the pin against the body and arresting the flow of fluid through the valve.
Over repeated use and refilling, the attachment mechanism of the first end of the valve can begin to wear, and eventually, the attachment mechanism can lose its ability to safely attach the gas cylinder to an external appliance. This condition can be extremely dangerous, since the fluid in the gas cylinder is typically under enormous pressure and, in some cases, is flammable, for example, in the case of propane. Once the valve has worn or deteriorated to the point where it no longer safely attaches to an external appliance, either the gas cylinder must be discarded or the gas cylinder must be refurbished by replacing the entire valve mechanism. The internal valve mechanism often has a much longer working life than that of the attachment mechanism. As a result, the valve (and possibly the entire gas cylinder) is typically discarded long before desirable.
Some compressed gases remain in a partially liquified state in a gas cylinder, for example, carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide or other gases are used with paintball guns, the introduction of liquid propellant into the gun, particularly the firing mechanism (a condition known as xe2x80x9cgoing liquidxe2x80x9d), is undesirable, because liquified gas occupies a much smaller volume, and thus once the liquid evaporates within the firing mechanism, an excessive amount of gas creates excessive pressure for firing the gun, known as having a xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d gun.
Many conventional paintguns are configured with an air supply adapter, or xe2x80x9cASA,xe2x80x9d attached to the handle in an orientation where the gas cylinder is attached to the paintgun in a horizontal position, so the gas cylinder can act as a shoulder stock. Undesirably, this configuration promotes the introduction of liquid propellant into the paintgun intake line, and occasionally to the firing mechanism. To reduce the entry of liquified gas into the firing mechanism, special gas cylinders have been devised with a syphon attached to the valve within the cylinder and bending towards the wall of the cylinder. Because gas cylinders are attached by threaded valves, these specialized cylinders must be custom made so that when attached to a specific paintgun, the syphon faces upward away from gravity, desirably above the liquid line of the compressed gas when the paintgun is being aimed and fired. The drawback to this design is that specialized gas cylinders are expensive to customize and are not necessarily interchangeable with other paintguns.
The present invention overcomes these and other limitations of the prior art.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved gas cylinder and valve comprising a body having a first end, a second end, and an axial bore for providing a passageway for flow of fluid, and a collar having an outer surface for engaging an external member for accepting or discharging fluid. A core is provided having an axial bore for receiving the pin and providing a passageway for flow of the fluid. The first end of the body is adapted to removably mount and rotationally fix the collar and is adapted to removably receive the core, whereby the core retains the collar on the body when the core is received by the body.
In another aspect of the invention, the second end of the body attaches to a chamber for containing fluid.
In another aspect of the invention, the present invention is made according to a method including the following steps. A collar is mounted on a body in a rotationally fixed position. A core is attached to the body, thereby maintaining the collar between the body and the core. A chamber is attached to the second end of the body.
The present invention also enables a selective adjustment of a gas cylinder having an internal syphon. A method for making a gas cylinder is provided wherein a syphon is attached to a body having an axial bore defining an axis and the syphon has distal end that terminates away from the axis. The body is attached to a chamber with the syphon being inside the chamber. When the body is attached to the chamber, a chamber mark is provided on the chamber to indicate the direction in which the distal end of the syphon is pointed. The collar is fitted securely to an ASA on a paintgun and a collar mark is provided on the collar to indicate the upward orientation of the paintgun when the paintgun is in a firing position. The collar is detached from the paintgun and mounted on the body in a rotationally fixed position so that the collar mark is aligned with the chamber mark. A core is attached to the body to secure the collar to the body, whereby the collar is maintained between the body and the core when the core is attached to the body and the distal end of the syphon is oriented upward when the chamber is attached to the ASA.
The foregoing features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the invention. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and.